Plastic bag dispenser

ABSTRACT

THE DEVICE DISPENSES PLASTIC BAGS IN SUCCESSION BY SEVERANCE FROM ROLLS OF PLASTIC BAG MATERIAL, WITHOUT THE USE OF CUTTERS OR BLADES. THE BAGS ARE DEFINED INITIALLY BY TRANSVERSE WELDS AND LINE OF PERFORATIONS APPLIED TO A TUBULAR STRIP WOUND UPON A CORE, AND ARE DETACHABLE IN QUICK SUCCESSION WITH THE AID OF FRICTIONAL RESTRAINERS AUTOMATICALLY OPERATIVE INCIDENT TO PAYOUT OF MATERIAL FROM THE SUPPLY ROLL.

Nov. 14, 1972 R. F. BECHT PLASTIC BAG DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 27, 1971 INVENTOR RAYMOND F. BECHT United States Patent C) 3,702,672 PLASTIC BAG DISPENSER Raymond F. Becht, 61 Stillmeadows Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45245 Filed May 27, 1971, Ser. No. 147,333

Int. Cl. B261: 3/02 US. Cl. 225-106 18 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The device dispenses plastic bags in succession by severance from rolls of plastic bag material, without the use of cutters or blades. The bags are defined initially by transverse welds and lines of perforations applied to a tubular strip wound upon a core, and are detachable in quick succession with the aid of frictional restrainers automatically operative incident to payout of material from the supply roll.

This invention relates to a plastic bag dispenser, and is concerned particularly with supplying bags for merchandise to a store clerk or other person, the bags being available in rolls containing a great number of bags in tandem arrangement.

The bag roll may be formed by advancing a continuous tube of plastic sheet material, the tube being flattened and subjecting the tube to mechanism which applies repeatedly at intervals a transverse narrow weld and a closely adjacent line of perforations. The weld produces the closed bottom of a plastic bag, and the adjacent line of perforations which may be referred to as a tear line, forms the open top of the next adjacent bag. This is clearly illustrated by FIG. 6, wherein the flattened plastic tube is shown seamed or welded along the dash-dot line, whereas the adjacent dotted line represents the tear line of perforations or penetrating cuts or slits. Severance along successive tear lines results in supplying individual plastic bags, which are useful as containers for many kinds of merchandise, including items purchased in retail stores or markets.

The present dispenser of bags of the type mentioned, can be utilized wherever merchandise requires bagging. It may be mounted upon or beneath a check-out table or counter, where a user may have easy access thereto. The dispenser herein disclosed possesses many advantageous features and fulfils a number of desirable objectives.

One object of the present invention is to provide a bag dispenser which will effectively and economically dispense plastic bags which initially are in roll formation, with substantial savings of valuable time and material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveniently operable dispenser of plastic bags, having the advantages of low cost and complete freedom from maintenance and servicing expenses.

Another object is to provide in a dispenser of the kind mentioned, means to ensure speed and dependability in severing individual bags from a supply roll, without producing an overrun of the roll as bag material is peeled therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plastic bag dispenser in unit form which may be quickly and easily recharged with bag rolls when necessary, provision being made therein for the convenient storage of spare rolls as replacements.

Another object is to provide in a device of the character stated, means to ensure the severance of plastic bags from a supply roll without resort to knife edges or cutters of any kind, unique frictional means being employed instead.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, in which:

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FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the plastic bag dispenser of the present invention, one bag being shown in position for severance from a bag supply roll.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a bag roll and supporting means therefor.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of a bag roll, part being broken away to show the roll supporting mandrel.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation on an enlarged scale, detailing the bag roll amount and delivery throat structure of the device.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing a plastic bag section in position for severance or detachment from a supply roll.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing several flat bag sections connected end to end as taken from a supply roll without severance.

In the drawings, the letters A, B and C indicate rolls of plastic material developed to provide a long succession of plastic bags detachably connected end to end, and adapted to be dispensed as individual plastic bags in succession by severance from the rolls. Each roll may be constituted of a length of plastic tubing in flat condition, spirally wound upon an inner cylindrical core 8 of cardboard or the like, the tubing having been previously subjected to mechanism capable of applying a transverse Weld 10 and an adjacent parallel line of perforations 12, at intervals along the length of the plastic tube, FIG. 6.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that a transverse weld or seam 10 will define the closed bottom of a bag 14 whose open top is defined by a remote line of severance 12. By tearing the tubing along each line 12, there is provided a succession of open-topped bags useful as containers for various kinds of merchandise or substances. The depth of a bag will be determined by the space provided between successive lines 12 of tear or severance. As FIG. 1 clearly suggests, the rolls A, B and C may differ from one another in width, to provide bags of various sizes. The difierent rolls may be characterized also in other respects, such as bag length, material thickness, color and the like, if desired. In general, however, the rolls of material may be substantially identical for the purposes of the present invention, except possibly for a desirable difference in width dimensions.

In FIG. 1, the rolls A, B and C are spares or replacements for the rolls A, B and C when replenishment becomes necessary.

The dispenser of the bags may comprise a base or boxlike frame -16 rectangular of shape, whose spaced parallel side walls 18, 1 8 carry suitable runners or ways 20, 20 upon which may be supported and reciprocated a drawerlike carriage 22. The carriage may incorporate suitable guides 24 and runways 26 at its spaced parallel side walls 28 (only one of which is shown), providing for reciprocative movement of the carriage over the top of base 16, between extended and retracted positions, in cooperation with the runners 20 and guides 24.

Base 16 may include a front wall 30, a rear wall 32, and possibly also a bottom wall. The base is adapted for placement upon or beneath a table or counter top, as desired. In FIG. 1 the numeral 34 indicates a counter top, a table, or a cover member for the base and carriage 22. If desired, member 34 may be provided as an integral part of base 16. Carriage 22 may include a front wall 36, a rear wall 38, and a bottom wall 40.

As illustrated by FIGS. 3 and 4, each supply roll may be provided with a detachable mandrel assembly, comprising an elongate shaft 42 having at opposite ends a fixed head 44 and a screw thread 46. A second head 48 has a central bore 50 to receive the threaded end of shaft 42. By means of a thumb nut or the like 52, the heads 44 and 48 may be tightened endwise against the opposite ends of core '8, so that the shaft and its heads will rotate with the core and the supply of plastic material wound thereon. If desired, one or both of the heads 44, 48 may be equipped with barbs or sharpened pins 54 to pierce the material of the core and thereby preclude rotation of the heads relative to the core.

One or both of the heads 44, 48 has a hub 56 of substantial diameter, in which is formed a peripheral endless groove 58 within which is lodged a tightly-fitting friction ring 60. The rings 60 may be rubber-like resilient O-rings or the equivalent, and by preference should be readily replaceable with new rings in the event of wear or destruction. The purpose of rings 60 is to frictionally restrain rotation of the plastic bag supply roll, as will later be explained.

The carriage 22 may be provided with side flanges 62 and struts 64 parallel thereto, for supporting the several supply rolls of a group. As shown, the flanges 62 carry fixed cradles or bearing members 66, 68 arcuately formed in substantial correspondency with the arcuacy of hubs 56, thereby to afford substantial bearing areas for the friction rings 60 of the hubs. Since rings 60 do not rotate relative to the hubs, and the hubs are fixed relative to core 8 and the plastic winding thereon, the weight of the supply roll imposed upon rings 60 furnishes a measure of resistance to rotation of the roll.

The cradles or bearing members supported 'by struts 64 may be wider than those on the flanges 62, so as to provide adequate support for two roll hubs 56, that is, for the aligned adjacent hubs of several axially aligned rolls according to FIG. 1. The rolls thereby are individually supported for restrained rotation, and for independent easy replacement when necessary. For example, when roll A of FIG. 1 is exhausted of bag material, the remaining core and mandrel thereof may be instantly lifted from the supporting cradles, and quickly replaced by the assembly A.

The forward portion of carriage or drawer 22 may be provided with an upstanding fixed support member or panel 70 having an elongate upper marginal portion curved rearwardly and downwardly to provide a smooth, horizontal, arcuate head 72 over which may be trained the plastic material of rolls A, B and C. The support member 70 carries or includes a forward projection or nose 74 adapted to direct the leading ends of the roll materials forwardly in spaced relation to member 70, in order that the leading end or ends thereof may easily be grasped by the human hand. Nose 74 may extend uninterruptedly across the width of carriage 22, in substantial parallelism with head 72.

An elongate friction bar 76 substantially coextensive in length with head 72, is characterized by an inner wall 78, an outer wall 80, and an arcuate bottom wall 82 of considerable area. The inner wall 78 is disposed in spaced relation to a wall section 84 of support member 70 adjacent to head 72, so as to form therewith a vertical or inclined throat through which the roll material depends while supported upon head 72. The depending roll material normally covers and overhangs the nose 74.

Spacers 86 between the walls 78 and '84, held in place by screws or bolts 88 located near opposite ends of head 72, maintain the throat space referred to above. The upper marginal edge 90 of wall 80 may be turned at an angle toward the plane of wall 84, and said edge 90 may normally abut the forward edge 92 of cover 34 when the dispenser is in use with carriage 22 retracted, thereby to enhance the appearance of the assembly. The reference numeral 94 indicates a manually releasable latch of any suitable type, for normally holding the carriage in the retracted position with relation to front wall 30 of base 16. Reference numeral 96 indicates a brace or gusset to rigidify the head portion 72.

It may here be noted that the convex arcuate wall 82 is made rather extensive in area, so as to present a friction face adequate for restraining payout of material 4 from a supply roll whenever a pull is directed upwardly on the material as in FIG. 5. This frictional restraint is of course substantially minimized when manual pull on the material is downward or laterally outward from the delivery throat. Accordingly, the user will grasp the leading end of the bag, FIG. 4, and pull it laterally outwardly or horizontally until a complete bag is exposed outwardly of the delivery throat; then an upward disposition of the bag material as in FIG. 5, and an upward pull, will in effect frictionally anchor the next bag against frictional face 82 so that tearing will be induced along the severance line 10 of FIG. 5, to release the leading bag for use.

After the leading bag has been detached as stated by tearing along line 10, the next bag will be immediately in position for convenient grasping as depicted by FIG. 4. Due to the restraining action of friction rings 60 associated with each roll as previously explained, there is minimal likelihood of a roll coasting into a position of overrun of bag material beyond the presentation of FIG. 4. As will be understood, the frictional restraint imposed by the friction rings 60 and the extensive friction area presented by surface 82, together ensure detachment of a bag rather than a payout from the supply roll, whenever an upward pull is exerted upon the bag material accord ing to FIG. 5.

The dispenser may be produced in different sizes for dispensing bags from any number of supply rolls, irrespective of the diametral dimensions of the rolls. The rolls may be constituted of bag sections of various sizes or capacities, and may possess differing characteristics in other respects also, perhaps as to color, weight of mate rial, the nature of the plastic employed, and the like. The dispenser is capable of being mounted conveniently atop or beneath a table or counter top, as desired.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing plastic bags supplied in the form of a long strip of tubular plastic sheet having transverse welds and adjacent tear lines closely spaced in substantial parallelism along the strip, the strip being wound spirally in roll formation about a core, said apparatus comprising in combination: a carriage having a forward support member; means supporting a plastic bag supply roll rotationally upon the carriage, with a leading end of the bag material directed toward said support member; means on the support member providing an inclined guide means receiving and guiding the leading end of the bag material in a generally downward direction during advancement of the material from said roll manually by grasping and pulling said leading end; and means operative incident to reversing said pull to a generally upward direction, for restraining advancement of the bag material to the extent of effecting severance thereof along one of the transverse tear lines aforesaid.

2. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, wherein said restraint of advancement of the bag material is applied thereto at a location adjacent to the guide means, incident to said reversal of direction of the pull.

3. Apparatus as defined by claim 2, wherein is included friction means operative constantly upon the roll of material to yieldingly oppose rotation thereof.

4. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, wherein the means last mentioned comprises a friction element having a downwardly convexed friction face of sufficient area adjacent to said guide means, for frictionally engaging and restraining advancement of the bag material as and for the purpose stated.

5. Apparatus as defined by claim 4, wherein said downwardly convexed friction face is smooth and stationary relative to said carriage.

6. Apparatus as defined by claim 5, wherein the forward support member of the carriage includes a forwardly projected nose offsetting the leading end of the bag material from said support member to facilitate manual grasping of said leading end.

7. Apparatus as defined by claim 2, wherein the forward support member of the carriage includes a forwardly directed nose offsetting the leading end of the bag material from the mean plane of said guide means.

8. Apparatus as defined by claim 4, wherein the forward support member of the carriage includes a forwardly directed nose oifsetting the leading end of the bag material from the mean plane of said guide means to facilitate manual grasping of said leading end.

9. Apparatus as defined by claim 8, wherein the combination includes a base member, and means associated with said base member for slidingly supporting said carriage.

10. Apparatus as defined by claim 9, wherein the combination includes means upon the carriage for storing replacement rolls of bag material.

11. Apparatus as defined by claim 4, wherein the combination includes means upon the carriage for storing replacement rolls of bag material; and a base member slidingly supporting said carriage.

12. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, wherein said inclined guide means includes a convex head supporting the bag material passing into said guide means.

13. Apparatus as defined by claim 2, wherein is included means associated with the core of the supply roll, for constantly frictionally restraining rotation of said roll.

14. Apparatus as defined by claim 13, wherein said last mentioned means includes a shaft passing axially through said core; head members on said shaft abutting and embracing the core ends for rotation therewith; a

8 hub on at least one of said head members; and a friction ring surrounding said hub and extending axially therefrom to frictionally engage the roll supporting means on said carriage.

15. Apparatus as defined by claim 14, wherein is included an endless annular groove on said hub displaceably supporting said ring; and means for detachably fixing said head members and said shaft relative to said roll core.

16. Apparatus as defined by claim 4, wherein said friction element includes a wall defining said guide means.

17. Apparatus as defined by claim 4, wherein said forward support member and said friction element include spaced walls defining said guide means.

18. Apparatus as defined by claim 17, wherein said forward support member includes a forwardly directed nose offsetting the leading end of the rolled bag material from the mean plane of said guide means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,122,674 12/1914 Winter et a1. 225-106 2,874,886 2/1959 'Piazze 225-106 3,291,354 12/1966 Ziebarth 225--106 X FRANK T, YOST, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

